Tube making machine



H. Z. COBB. TUBE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY7. I920.

Patented June 6,1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- 5] wve'ntoz HENRY Z. 0055 H. Z. COBB.

TUBE MAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 7.' 1920.

1,418,535. n une 6, 1922.

w 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

5 woewl oz H. Z. COBB.

TUBE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY7. 1920.

Patented June 6, 1922.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- 3] mmMoz HENRY Z. 6055 UNITED STA'BES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY Z. COBB, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO NEW YORK BELTING & PACKING COMPANY, A CORPORATION.

TUBE-MAKING- MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY Z. COBB, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tube- Making Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a tube making machine, more particularly to one. for making tubing by lapping the edges of sheet stock.

It is well known that rubber tubing made by a tubing die is lacking in thetoughness, denseness and uniformity possessed by that made by lapping calendered sheet stock, and for certainpurposes requiring great strength and durability, such as fire hose and airbralre hose, the die formed tubing cannot be used. The machines at present in use for making tubing from sheet stock, while producing a tube superior to the die. formed tube, are, however, still defective in certain particulars which it is an object of my invention to correct. It is common in the prior art machines to feed the sheet stock forwardly by a conveyor and into a tube forming mechanism, but as far as I am aware the stock adjacent such mechanism lea-1 v been deflected away from the conveyor and after the formation of the tube is again deflected to and carried forward by the same or another conveyor. The stock being relatively soft, tendsto stretch and become deformed at points where it is not supported and fed by the conveyor, with a re sulting lack of uniformity in the finished product. In addition, the flat sheet of stock, prior to joining its edges, has been curved to tubular shape by fixed guide directly acting upon it, and, of course, the sheet is partly curved up transversely out of its fiat form for some distance from the entrance to the guide. its a result this unsupported partly curved portion of the sheet in advance of the guide tends to assume a flat form, causing further stretching, which is increased by the friction at the point where it is crowded into the guide.

An object of my invention is to provide a simple and eilicient machine for making lapped tubing of great uniformity from sheet stock.

Another object is to provide an edge lapping and joining machine in which no part Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J n 6 1922 Application filed May 7, 1920.

Serial No. 379,429.

ble, passes on a conveyor on the first table through a machine for dusting the central portion of the stock with talcum, starch or other suitable material, then passes to a conveyor carried by the interi'nediate table, this table being provided with means for lapping and joining the edges of the stock while the latter is continuously in contact with the conveyor, the tube thus formed passing to a third or delivery conveyor carried by the last table, a cutter being disposed between the second and third tables for cutting the tubing into predetermined lengths. A single main shaft. driven in any desired manner, extends along the side of the intermediate table, and the various conveyor belts, the edge lapping and joining device, and the cutter are all operated from the. main shaft through suitable connections.

For a detailed disclosure of the invention reference is had to the accompanying specification and drawings, in which latter- Fig. l is a side elevation showing the in termediate table section, drive mechanism, cutter and part of the initialtable;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the portion of the initial table broken out from Fig- 1;

Fig. 4 is a planview of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the third or delivery table;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale showing the operating connection from the main shaft to the conveyor belt of the delivery table, and also a portion of the op erating connection to the cutter;

Fig. 8 is an elevation, partly in section, of the cutter mechanism;

Fig. 9 is an elevation, also partly in sec tion, at right angles to that shown in F 8;

The stock is fed- Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section through the mechanism for lapping the edges of the stock and joining them;

Fig. 11 is a view of the delivery end of the stock edge lapping and joining mecha-,

nisin; and

Fig. 12 is an elevation of the edge lapping mechanism with the mandrel in section;

Referring to the drawings the numeral 1 represents a stand carrying a stock roll 2 from which the stock 3 is fed to the first the shaft 9 of which is extended laterally at one end and carries a bevel gearlO meshing with a bevel gear 11 on the upper end of a short vertical shaft 12, which latter carries at its lower end a bevel gear 13 meshing with a bevel gear 14 on the main shaft 15. At an intermediate point on the table 4 a talc or starch carrying drum 16 is supported on brackets 17, the stock 3 and conveyor belt 5 passing beneath the drum. The belt 5 is guided by a pair of vertically disposed rollers 18 carried on the base 19 and passes over roller 20, under roller 21, over roller 22 and thence to the drive roller 8. The stock 3 passes over the top of the base 19 in position to receive the starch or talcum issuing from the controlling valve 23 in the bottom of the drum 16. The drum is provided with a stirrer 24 and a brush 25, which latter acts to uniformly spread the talc and remove any surplus.

From the table 4 the stock passes to the intermediate table 26, which latter carries at its end adjacent the roll 8 an idler roll 27 and at its opposite end another idler roll 28. A conveyor belt 29 passes above the table over the rolls 27 and 28 and'beneath the table it passes over an idler roll 30 the bearings of which are adjustable by the wing nuts 81 to vary the tension of the belt. The belt also passes over a drive roll 32 beneath the table, which roll carries on its shaft a bevel gear 33 meshing with a bevel gear 34 on the upper portion of a short vertical sh aft 35, the lower end of which carries a bevel gear 36 meshing with a bevel gear 37 on the main shaft 15. A weighted roll 38 is pivotally supported from the table by means of the arms 39, the roll resting on the belt 29 to assist in maintaining the proper tension on said belt. Secured to the table 26 are a pair of brackets 40 carrying a mandrel 41, and in advance of said brackets a guide 42 for the belt 29 and stock 3 is mounted, the edges of the guide being turned over as shown at 43 in Fig. 2. It will be noted from Fig. 2 that the belt 29 is narrower than the stock strip 3, for a purpose to be later explained. The mandrel 41 projects into the bore 44 of an edge lapping and joining device 45 (see Fig. 10), and at the inlet to said bore a sleeve or bushing 46 is inserted, which sleeve carries an edge lapping fin 47. A pair of upper driven pressure rollers 48 and. 49 are mounted in slidable bearing blocks 50, while a corresponding pair of idler pressure rollers 51 and 52 are mounted in the mandrel 41. The first coacting pair of pressure rollers 48 and 51 are provided with milled edges to aid in securing a good oint of the lapped edges of the stock. Vertical guide rods 5-3 extend from the bearing blocks through the upper part of the tube forming means 45, and coil springs 54 encircle said rods, one end ofeach spring resting against a corresponding bearing block while the other end bears against an adjusting nut 55 threadedin the upper end of the tube forming means 45 and surrounding the rod 58. The shafts of the rollers 48 and 49 extend outside the tube forming means 45 at one end and carry gears 56 which mesh with a gear 57 mounted on one end of a short shaft 58, the other end of which carries a bevel gear 59 meshing with a bevel gear 60 on the upper end of the shaft 35. The gearing is such that the rollers 48 and 49 are driven in uniformity with the belt 29. The lapped tube 61 and conveyor belt 29, after issuing from the tube forming means 45, pass through a guide 62, and beyond this guide a pair of lateral guides 63 engage each side of the tube to guide it to the cutter mechanism.

The cutter mechanism is supported upon a frame 64 connecting the intermediate and delivery table sections. It comprises a substantially rectangular frame 65, provided with guideways 66 in its side walls, within which is vertically movable a cross bar 67 carrying a cutter blade 68. A guide rod 69 extending vertically above the cross bar 67 is slidable in the frame and carries at its up per threaded end a pair of adjusting and lock nuts 7 O, a coil spring 71 being disposed around the rod 69 with its lower end bearing against the frame 65 and its upper end against the adjusting nuts 70. A pair of guide rods 72 connected to the cross bar 67 extend downwardly through the lower wall of the frame 65 and slidably mounted on said guide rods is a stripper 73. F ixedly connected to the stripper 73 are two slide rods 74 extending through bearing lugs 75 on the cross bar 67, said rods being provided with adjusting nuts 76 on their upper ends. Surrounding the guide rods 72 and interposed between the stripper 73 and cross bar 67 are coil springs 77. Fixedly secured to the lower part the frame 65 is a stationary cutting blade 78 with which the movable blade 68 coacts. A guide plate 79 is secured to the inlet side of the frame 65 to support the tube mounted on the shaft of gear 88, the gear 88 in turn engaging a gear 89 mounted on the shaft of gear 90, which latter meshes with a gear 91 carried by a sleeve 92 rotatable on the main shaft 15. At its other end (Fig. 7) the sleeve 92 carries a bevel gear 93 meshing with a bevel gear 94 at the lower end of a short vertical shaft 95. The bevel. gear 94 also meshes with a bevel gear 96 rigidly mounted on the main shaft 15.

The third or delivery table section 97 is connected to the opposite side of the frame 64 from that to which the table 26 is connected, and carries a conveyor belt 98, which at one end of the table passes over a driven roll 99 mounted on a shaft 100 journaled on the frame 64. The shaft 100 carries a bevel gear 101 at its end which meshes with a bevel gear 102 on the upper end of shaft 95. At the opposite end of the delivery table section the conveyor belt 98 passes over an idler roll 108, the bearings of which are ad-- justable by means of the thumb nuts 104, to vary the tension of the belt.

The main shaft 15 carries a gear 105 (Fig.

1) which mesheswith a gear 106, the latter being driven through a clutch 107 by the gears 108, and the gear 108 being in mesh with gear 109 on the shaft ofmotor 110. The clutch 107 is controlled by the foot pedals 111 through the rock arm 112, link .1125 and lever 114. In order that the drive mechanism may be also controlled from adjacent the first table section a second foot pedal mechanism 115 is provided, which is connected by the rock arm 116 and link 11'? with the arm 112.

in operation the stock 3 passes from the roll 2 on to the conveyor belt 5 of the first table section, and as it reaches the talc dusting mechanism the stock 3 passes over the upper part of the base 19 while the conveyor belt 5 is deflected through the interior of the base. The delivery of the tale is controlled by the valve 23, and the tale is uniformly spread by the brush 25. Upon issuing from the tale dusting apparatus the stock 3 again rests on the conveyor belt 5 and after leaving the drive roll 8 passes across the gap between the first and second table sections into contact with the conveyor belt 29. This rolls 8 and 27 and thereby compensate for such unevenness. The stock then passes along the table 26 on the conveyor 29 through the guide 42, around the mandrel 41 and into the edge lapping and joining device 45. When starting the machine, as the forward end of the stock reaches the edge lapping fin 47' one edge of the stock is guided above said fin and the other below, as shown in Fig. 12, and as the machine functions the lin 47 will continue to guide the edges into overlapping position. The conveyor 29 being. narrower than the stock, only the edges of the latter are acted upon by the edge lapping fin 47. The lapped edges are then engaged bythe pairs of pressure rollers 48, 51 and 49, 5.2, which firmly unite the lapped edges. While a good joint is secured without the use of cement, the edges to be joined may be cemented, if desired. It will be noted that the flat strip of stock in advance of the edge lapping and joining device 45, the portion of the stock being operated upon by said device, and the finished tube 61 issuing therefrom are all continuously in contact with the conveyor belt, hence all parts of the material are uniformly fed forward and undue tension on any part of it is avoided. Moreover, if the stock were curved to position for lapping and joining its edges by direct contact with the wall of bushing 46 and bore 44- friction would result it met the edge of bushing 4-6, causing the soft. stock to stretch. The belt, however, is moving at the same speed as the stock and by indirectly curving the stock by means of the belt this difficulty is obviated. The tube 61 then passes over the guide 62 and between the lateral guides 63 to the cutting mechanism, where it is cut at predetermined intervals by the action of the cam arm 84 striking the cam lug 83 and thereby drawing down the movable blade 68 into coaction with the fixed blade 78. As the movable blade 68 descends the stripper 73 moves with it and engages the tube 61, the stripper continuing to move downwardly until it has flattened the tube 61, the springs 77 being compressed meanwhile. After the cam arm 84 has passed over the lug 83 the spring 71 returns the cutter blade 68 to inoperative po-' sition, while the expansion of the springs 77 keeps the stripper '73 in engagement with the tube momentarily to thereby strip it from the cutter blade. The pressure of the sgn'ings 77 on the stripper 73 may be varied by use of the adjusting nuts 76. The cut sections of the tube 61 then pass on to the conveyor belt 98 of the delivery table section 97. The gearing is so arranged that this last named conveyor belt is driven at a slightly higher speed than the belts 5 and 29, thereby placing a slight tension on the end of the tubing 61 passing through the cutter mechanism before it is cut, which obviates any tendency of the cut section of tube to buckle and jam.

A particularly valuable feature of my invention lies in keeping the stock continually in contact with the conveyor belt during the edge lapping andjoining operation, since by retaining the belt and stool; in contact and curving the belt and sustained stock together all undue strains on the stock during the edge lapping and joining operation are avoided, resulting in a superior tube of great uniformity throinhout.

While a saecific embodiment of my invention has been shown and described it is obvious that numerous modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a tube machine, means for continuously supporting and feeding a stool: strip, and means disposed at an intermediate point on said first means for properly positioning and joining the edges of said strip.

2. In a tube machine, stock strip feeding means, a lap former, means acting upon the feeding means to present the edges of the stock strip to the lap former, and means for j oining the lapped edges.

3. In a. tube machine, a stock strip conveyor belt, means for curving the belt edges toward each other and thereby correspondingly curving the stock strip, and

'means for properly positioning and joining the edges of the stock strip.

4. In a tube machine, a casing having a bore therein, means passing through the bore for conveying a stoct strip therethrough, and means for properly positioning and joining the edges of the strip.

5. In a tube machine, a casing having a bore therein, a feed belt for the stock passing therethrough, a lap former at the inlet to said bore, and means disposed within the bore for joining the lapped edges of the stock.

6. In a tube machine, means for lapping and joining the edges of a stock strip, and means continuously acting upon the stock strip to feed it toand through said first means and for positioning its edges to be lapped.

7. In a tube machine, means for lapping and joining the edge portions of a sheet of stock, and stock feeding means cooperating at all times with the stock to prevent strain thereupon during the entire tube forming operation.

8. In a tube machine, sheet stock feeding means, means acting indirectly upon the stock for forming it into tubular shape, whereby strain on the stock is prevented, and means acting directly upon the edge portions of the stock for lapping and joining them.

9. In a tube machine, sheet stock edge lapping and joining means, and unitary means for continuously feeding and sup porting the stock during the lapping and joining operation.

10. In a tube machine for sheet stock, a conveyor belt for the stock and of less width than the stock, means for transversely curvingthe belt into an incomplete tubular form with a space between its edges, and means disposed in alignment with the space for lapping and joining the edges of the stock.

11. In a tube machine for sheet stock, stock feeding means, means acting upon said first means for forming the stock into tubular shape, means for lapping the edges of the stock, and means for joining the lapped edges.

12. In a tube machine for sheet stock, stock-feeding means, means acting upon said first means for forming the stock into tubular shape, means for lapping the edges of the stock, and a pair of milled pressure rollers for joining the lapped edges.

13. In a tube machine for sheet stock, a casing having a bore therein, means continuously in contact with the stock for feeding it through said bore, a fixed mandrel projecting into said bore, and stock edge lapping and joining means insaid bore.

14-. In a tube machine for sheet stock, a casing having a bore therein, means for feeding the stock therethrough, a mandrel projecting into said bore, a stock edge lapping fin at the inlet to said bore, and means for joining the lapped edges comprising driven and idler pressure rollers carried by the easing and mandrel.

15. In a tube machine for sheet stock, tubing means including a casing having a bore therethrough, an edge lapping means in said bore, a mandrel supported, in said bore, coacting edge joining means carried by said casing and mandrel, and stock feeding means movable through said bore.

16. In a tube machine for sheet stock, a casing having a bore therein, stock feeding means passing through said bore, stock edge lapping means in said bore, and coacting means on the inner and outer sides of the lapped edges for joining them.

17. In a tube machine for sheet stock, a casing having a bore therein, a flexible conveyor belt of less width than the circumference of said bore passing therethrough in contact with the wall thereof, a stock edge lapping device disposed in said bore between the edges of said belt, and means for oining the lapped edges of the stock.

18. In a tube machine, a casing having a bore therein, a mandrel supported in said bore, a lap former for a stock strip disposed adjacent said mandrel, means continuously engaging the strip for feeding it through said bore and presenting its edges to the lap former, and pressure means for joining the lapped edges of the strip.

19. In a tube machine, a casing having a bore therein, a mandrel supported in said bore, a pair of rollers supported in said mandrel, a pair of coacting rollers projecting through the walls of said bore, a lap former at the inlet end of the bore, and a feed belt passing between the mandrel and the walls of the bore.

20. In a tube machine, a casing having a bore therein, a mandrel supported in the bore, a lap former for a stockstrip disposed at the inlet end of said bore, means continuously engaging the strip for feeding it through said bore and presenting its edges to the lap former, pressure means disposed in rear of said lap former for joining the lapped edges, and means for varying the pressure. p

21. In a tube machine for sheet stock, a casing having a bore therein, means for feeding the stocl: therethrough, a mandrel projecting into said bore, a stock edge lapping fin at the inlet to said bore, spaced pairs of coacting pressure rollers carried by the casing and mandrel, the rollers carried by the casing being yieldably mounted and positively driven.

22. In a tube machine for sheet stock, tube forming means comprising a casing having a bore therein, a lap former disposed adjacent the inlet to said bore, a mandrel projecting into said bore and carrying spaced idler pressure rollers, resiliently mounted bearing blocks slidable in said casing, a driven pressure roller mounted in each block and coacting with a corresponding idler roller, and means for feeding a stock sheet through said bore.

23. In a tube machine for sheet stock, a plurality of: longitudinally aligned table sections, stock feeding means thereon, a powder applying means carried on the first section, an edge lapping and joining means carried on the second section, a tube severing means disposed in operative relation to the section section, and means for exerting a slight tension on the severed tube portions as they are delivered from said last means.

24. In a tube machine, a pair of longitudinally aligned stock strip conveyor sections, said sections being spaced apart whereby inequalities in the feeding of the strip may be compensated, a dusting device disposed on the first section in cooperative relation to the strip, a strip edge lapping and joining device on the second section, a third aligned conveyor section operating at a higher. speed than the first named sections, and an intermittently operated cutter disposed between said second and third sections.

25. In a tube machine, a feed section, a

conveyor belt for a stock strip carried-thereby, a talc dusting device mounted over said belt, an intermediate section, an edge lapping and joining device mounted thereon, a conveyor belt passing through said edge lapping and joining device, a discharge section, a conveyor belt mounted thereon, a cutting device mounted between said last two sections, and drive means for the belts, edge joining device and cutter.

Signed at Passaic, N. J., this 4th day of May, 1920.

HENRY Z. COBB, 

